Myanmar

Updated May 2013

Tax

Total tax rate as a % of Retail Price : 50%

Price

Cigarette Prices of tobacco products in Myanmar have become relatively cheaper over the past two decades.Cheroots, which are the most popular form of smoked tobacco, cost around 12.36 kyats in 1991 but dropped to around 7.4 kyats in 2000.

Around 23% of Myanmar’s 50 million people are estimated to be smokers with 33% of men and an alarming 15% of women being smokers. While the sentinel prevalence studies of tobacco use conducted in Myanmar show that smoking prevalence is gradually declining, there is also a significant and steadily growing prevalence of smokeless tobacco use, such as chewing of betel quid with tobacco, with most recent estimates at 20.8% (31.8% of men and 12% of women). Examining the various types of tobacco available and their affordability may explain these prevalence trends.

Prevalence of tobacco use among adults (>15 years), 2001-2007

There is a wide variety of tobacco products available in Myanmar. Betel quid with tobacco is the most popular form of tobacco use (45%) closely followed by cheroots (43%). Other forms include hand-rolled cheroots, chewing tobacco, cigars, and cigarettes, though these take up much smaller portions of the tobacco market. The smoking population is believed to be concentrated in the central plains mainly because of the presence of the local cheroot cottage industries in the area. Popular cigarette brands include London, Vegas, Duya, and Golden Triangle.